The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-16
!iNlIpOD.iL APPLES.
toNpoNERS EATING FRUIT FROM
THE ORCHARDS OF AUSTRALIA.

Applcs and Pears which Have Travelled
IL Distance OF 14.coo 7!i!cs-Improve-
ment in Color. Shape and S;z"-Tas-
mnn;a's Future Orchards.
a few years a~o li;,d any one pr ,dictcd that
the orchards II lu,traia would provide the
fairest portion Of Tie dessert for the L'@HGn
dinner in the height of the season, he would
have becn set down. as a dreamer GonH Wild
with the colonial idea. let the miracle bus
been accomplished. t.pp!es and pears, them
selves the offspring Of al Enrlisl! stock, have
come to rcplcnish th2 native supply, appear
ing in abundance precisely when they ere
most needed In May and carly June house.
keepers arc sorcly tried to furnish the la,V
course English apples are few and
shriveled. Those OF American growth are
spent. Pears are not on hire. Inc time or
Strawberries has not come. except tcr the
'swaggering' classes. Grapes are in their
worst season. The nuts of autumn are dry
and musty, and oranges are over 1t IS at
this season that We are to L." blessed with tho
noble and beautiful growth of Australia, or
which as yet only to- tiinil filStiings appear
in the fruit market Of the colonial exhibition.
Considering that tLcsc apples and pears
have Travelled a distance Of 14,nC0 miles, and
that the arrangements for their transport are
yet imperfect, we must pronounce the expert
ment q complete success. In respect to looks,
the fruit will compare favorablv with tie
very best either Of native growth or Of Amcri-
can importation. No finer color or bloom has
been seen in Coveut Garden market. Tic
apples might have been gathered i'll the gar
IL &c I'm show
signs of travel If only for their appear
ance, they are splendid acquisition to our
dinner tables Some of the fruit, indeed, can
hardly be recognized as belonging to the
names by which they are labeled. Tho scar
let nonpareilS and the Sturmcr pippins are
larger than the average OF their respective
binds The rcdstreakS and ruSsets recall tho
warmer and brighter hucs Of their southern
homes There are few Of tho varieties brt
which slow an Improvement on the type IN
color, shape and size. In fincncSS OF skin ana
texture of flesh they are at least equal to
their best grown English or foreign name
sakCs.
TIE FLAVOR NOT 50 GOOD.
As to flavor, it must be admitted that they
are scarcely equal to the promise of their
looks. With the exception OF one or two OF
the apples, neither they nor the pears the
pears more especially are so good to tho
taste as the best of English Or American
fruit; but that is q defect that will probably
be amended in future mportations. The CHI
terprise IS novel one, and it l:;sS been car
ried out without experience and as yet with
imperfect means. The greater portion OF
the fruits hitherto exhibited in the colonial
market have come from South Australia and
Victoria-colonie:; in which the apple AMI
pear can scarcely be said to b2 quite at home.
This is the country rather Of he vine, the
peach and the orange; the climate being
hardly moist enough for the production OF the
purely English fruits ut their best.
Tasmania, which is the apple and pear
country par excellence, is unfortunately not
represented in this exhibition. In Tasmania
English fruits attain to = degree Of perfection
such as would he scarcely credible to those
who cling to the superstition that the apple Is
a distinctly English product. In Tasmania
All our wol1l-out British stocks renew their
youth and vigor. There the R!hstoEc pippin
is still to be eaten in its more than original de-
lectablcncss. There the goosebciTy acquires
q positive grandeur Of character III that
I.otosland OF tic south is the future orchard
of the emnrc.-St. James Badgct.